The U.S. Education Department last week said it was investigating dozens of universities for alleged racial discrimination, citing ties to the nonprofit organization.

UChicago is among nearly 50 institutions under investigation for alleged racial discrimination related to DEI programs. Namely, the college’s partnership with the PhD Project, a nonprofit that aims to increase diversity in the business world.

The department’s Office for Civil Rights on Friday announced it has begun investigating 45 universities for failing to follow their “civil rights obligations to end the use of racial preferences and stereotypes in education programs and activities.”

“At a time of such political division, Americans need to find common ground,” said Dr. Scott Oakes, who studies the role of cells in diseases at the University of Chicago. “We should all agree that medical research is one of those areas where we can all come together.”

University of Chicago paleontologist and author Neil Shubin has been on multiple expeditions to the Arctic and Antarctica. Those trips have produced groundbreaking discoveries about the evolution of life.

Fears and frustrations linger among university researchers around the country whose research work is now in limbo as President Donald Trump’s administration aims to cut what it deems as “wasteful” federal spending.

In this lab, you can find students working on projects like a smartwatch incorporating muscle stimulation, an augmented headset that expands our perception, or a device to assist individuals in learning the drums.

More than 1,500 people received a “full, complete, and unconditional” pardon from the president last week. The assault on the Capitol — which injured more than 140 police officers — has been one of several displays of political violence in recent years.

Lia Merminga has been the director of Fermilab in suburban Batavia since 2022. FermiForward Discovery Group, the lab’s new management and operations contractor, said in a message to staff it was immediately launching a search for its new director.

If you’ve made it to 2025, make a resolution to take a leap and dive deep into the cultural pool of Chicago. Here are a few ideas to start the year with a splash.

Three scientists who discovered powerful techniques to predict and even design novel proteins — the building blocks of life — were awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry on Wednesday. 

The Fermi Forward Discovery Group will replace the Fermi Research Alliance early next year at the accelerator and detector laboratory in suburban Batavia. The announcement comes following criticism about safety and financial stewardship by the particle physics lab.

The donation will help expand the work of UChicago’s Forum for Free Inquiry and Expression, which launched last year. The forum aims to promote the understanding, practice and advancement of open dialogue at the school and beyond.

Police cleared a pro-Palestinian tent encampment at the University of Chicago early Tuesday morning as tension ratcheted up in standoffs with demonstrators at other college campuses across the U.S.

After the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan, an initial 80,000 Afghans were evacuated to the U.S. in 2021 following America’s botched withdrawal from the country. More than 2,300 Afghan evacuees have since resettled in Illinois, according the Illinois Department of Human Services.

Mental health resources and early intervention can play a crucial role in preventing suicides, but researchers say those services are becoming harder to access.